Lightning's Ride (Prime)
The Lightning's Ride was the modified CEC YT-2400 Light Freighter owned by CJ Morgan. Rescued from salvage and disuse, the "Ride" went through a serious restoration and modification process once CJ acquired the ship from the Manchi Rebel cell. As with other Corellian Engineering freighters, the ship was customized to fit the needs of the captain and crew. Serving as the personal transport for Morgan, the "Ride" would go on to gain attention and noteriety as a combat vessel and smuggling freighter, especially with the Empire. History Found in a hanger, unused and severely neglected, the battered YT-2400 freighter immediately caught the young CJ Morgan's eye. The Rusty Bucket, as it was known to the Manchi Rebels, had seen better days. CJ went to work bargaining for the ship which was freely given to her and her crew just to get it out of the hanger. Limping the ship to Phantom Station, CJ had the freighter almost totally refurbished, restoring it to almost stock status. Within a month, CJ had the ship modified into what it would become best known as. Named after one of CJ's favorite songs from Hyperdrive Burnout, the Lightning's Ride quickly became her favorite ship. While CJ was protective of her crew, she's became more and more protective of the ship. During a situation where her and the crew were caught by slavers, CJ was more angry about the potential harm to her ship than she was about being stunned unconscious. Air of Rebellion As CJ began to side more and more with the ideals of fighting against the Galactic Empire, the Lightning's Ride saw more and more combat action against the forces of the Imperials. Equipped with strong armaments, CJ often boasted that the "Ride" was as good as any starfighter. The ship would be matched against TIE fighters during the course of the Galactic Civil War. The ship would be used during raids against Imperial targets within the Manchi Sector during the start of Graydon Strykia's claim of High Lord of the Antrixian Commonwealth. The "Ride" assisted in evacuating Jacen Tybalt from Rotex, following the Battle of Rotex. It would also be the primary ship used in a cargo raid on Zamora. Following these events, the "Ride" was used as a personnel transport during the build-up of Antrixian Refugees that would come to be known as the Shadow Wolves. Jev Cray and Ulic Rossini would use the ship to scout out a site for refugees on the planet Trudaa before rescuing a large group of Antrixians near the Hataar Sector. The Battle of Hoth The "Ride" was used as one of the personnel transports used to evacuate some of the command staff from Echo Base during the Imperial assault on the rebel base. During the flight from Hoth, CJ piloted the ship against fighters from the Imperial Death Squadron and it's support vessels. While initially able to fend most of the fighters off, the "Ride" did sustain damage before making the jump to hyperspace. One of the quad cannons was destroyed, along with damage to the shield systems and maneuvering thrusters. All together, the "Ride" was attributed to the destruction of five TIE fighters and the collision/destruction of a Carrack-class cruiser and a Strike-class cruiser during the Rebel evacuation of Echo Base. CJ was compensated by the rebels for her service and assistance with the replacement of the destroyed weapon with the new turbolaser emplacement. Modifications To date, the Lightning's Ride has had a majority of her systems either replaced, modified, or rebuilt to increase performance, almost to that of a military-grade vessel. Due to the modifications and armaments of the vessel, the "Ride" was not legal to land on most civilized planets across the galaxy during the reign of the Empire. Some of these modifications were: *Upgraded ion engines *Upgraded maneuvering thrusters *Upgraded repulsorlift units for increased lift-to-mass ratio *(1) Turbolaser Cannon, ventral turrent *(1) Quad Laser Cannons, dorsal turrent *(2) Light Ion Cannons, linked to pilot controls *(2) Concussion Missle Launchers, linked to pilot controls *Updated Sensor modules *Secret Smuggling Compartment *Sensor Baffler Unit *Comm Jammer Unit *Additional Transponder ID (The Charmed Life) Crew The Lightning's Ride had a pretty static crew after it came under the ownership of CJ. These individuals were: *CJ Morgan - The Captain and owner of the ship. CJ acted as the primary pilot for the Ride also. CJ also handled maintenance on board when needed. *R2-F3 - CJ's trusty R2 astromech droid acted as CJ's copilot for many years. Often times, "Arfee" acted as copilot, navigator, and as sensor operator on board the "Ride" whenever needed. "Arfee" assisted CJ with maintenance on board also. *Graydon "Blade" Strykia - Since joining CJ at the behest of her father, Graydon was the First Mate of CJ's crew(s). With the acquisition of the "Ride," Graydon often worked as copilot when needed, along with sensors operator and primary gunner when needed. *Nessa Carré - Since she joined the crew, Nessa filled the roll of operating sensors and handling communications. Nessa also handled gunnery duties when needed. *Shalranna - Pledging a Life Debt to CJ, the Wookiee, Shalranna, would become the normal co-pilot for the ship, along with the mechanic often servicing the vessel. RPG D6 Stats Craft: Modified Corellian YT-2400 Transport Era: Rebellion Type: Modified light freighter Scale: Starfighter Length: 21 meters Skill: Space Transports: YT-2400 Crew: 2, gunners: 2, skeleton: 1/+5 Crew Skill: See CJ Morgan Passengers: 5 Cargo Capacity: 113 metric tons Consumables: 2 months Cost: Not For Sale Hyperdrive Multiplier: x1 Hyperdrive Backup: x12 Nav Computer: Yes Maneuverability: 2D Space: 8 Atmosphere: 365; 1050 kmh Hull: 5D Shields: 2D, 1D (Backup) Sensors: *Passive: 10/0D *Scan: 25/1D *Search: 40/2D *Focus: 2/3D Weapons: 1 Turbolaser (Ventral) Fire Arc: Turret Scale: Starfighter Crew: 1 Skill: Starship gunnery Fire Control: 3D Space Range: 1-4/15/30 Atmosphere Range: 100-400/1.5/3 km Damage: 7D 1 Quad Laser Cannons (Dorsal) Fire Arc: Turret Crew: 1 Skill: Starship gunnery Fire Control: 3D Space Range: 1-3/12-25 Atmosphere Range: 100-300/1.2/2.5 km Damage: 6D 2 Concussion Missile Tubes (fire linked) Fire Arc: Front Crew: Pilot or Co-pilot Skill: Starship gunnery Fire Control: 3D Space Range: 1/3/7 Atmosphere Range: 50-100/300/700 m Damage: 9D 2 Medium Ion Cannons (fire-linked) Fire Arc: Front Crew: Pilot or Co-pilot Skill: Starship Gunnery Fire Control: 3D Space Range: 1-3/7/36 Atmosphere Range: 0.1-0.3/0.7/3.6 km Damage: 4D Category:Personal Starships